Stay-guide for sewing-machines



(No Model. F. w. MERRICK.

STAY GUIDE FORSEWING MACHINES. N0. 570,036.

Patented Oct. 27, 1896.

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in place by sewing.

UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFICE.

FRANK W. MERRIOK, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

STAY-GUIDE FOR SEWING-MACHINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No.57 0,036, dated. October 2'7, 1896.

Application filed \Tune 20, 1894:.

T0 at whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANK W. MERRIOK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Stay-Guides for Sewing-Machines, of which the following is a specification, reference beinghad therein to the accompanying drawings.

My invention has for its object to provide an improvement in stay-guides for sewingmachines.

The invention is designed more especially for machines which are adapted to sew leather. In the construction of boots and shoes and the like strips of leather or stay-pieces are frequently employed and required to be secured It is desirable that the stay-piece while being sewed to the leather be properly guided, so that it may be evenly and neatly placed. When stay-pieces of uniform width have been employed, they have been guided by means of a slot in the work rest or table of the machine; but this device is objectionable because the stay-piece cannot be readily inserted in the guide. Such a guide is not adapted to receive stay-pieces of irregular shape. It has therefore been common heretofore not to employ a guide in sewing on stay-pieces and to rely upon the operator being able to hold and guide the staypiece properly with his thumb and finger while the sewing was being effected. This is a difficult matter for the operator to properly perform. It imposes an unnecessary strain upon the operator and is otherwise objectionable.

By my invention I am enabled to obviate the objections above noted, my device being such that stay-pieces of any shape may be readily inserted in the guide Without causing delay or trouble tothe operator, while staypieces of irregular shape will be properly guided.

My invention will be found fully set forth in the following description, and the novel features thereof are pointed out in the claims which are appended hereto. In said description reference is made to the accompanying drawings, in which I Figure 1 is a perspective of a throat-plate for a sewing-machine with my improved stay- Serial No. 515,105. (No model.)

guide attached thereto and indicating by dotted lines the position of a stay-piece of irregular shape. Figs. 2 and 3, respectively, are a plan and side view of my improvement detached. Fig. 4 is a perspective of a modification.

Referring to the drawings. Arepresents the throat-plate of a sewing-machine. This plate may be of any well-known form or construction. The form thereof which is shown is intended to be secured by one end thereof to a work-rest in the form of a post extending upwardly from the framing of the machine.

B is a block which is employed in the case of the embodiment of my invention that is illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, and 3 as a support for the spring 5 and arms 8 8, which are described hereinafter. The said block is provided with a dovetail groove 2 and thereby is adapted to be fitted upon the usual dovetail 3, which is formed on the under side of the said throat-plate for the purpose of enabling the throat-plate to be secured to the Work-rest of a sewing-machine. The dovetail and groove serve conveniently for securing the block B to the throat-plate and enable the block to be slid relatively to the throat-plate whenever adjustment of the said spring 5 and arms 8 8 is deemed to be necessary, but any well-known means of securing the block B to the throat-plate may be employed instead of the dovetail groove and dovetail. In practice the dovetail is slid for a portion of its length into the dovetail groove which is provided in the upper end of the supporting-post, and the end of the throatplate A which has the block B applied thereto projects to one side from the said post.

' The block B is not essential to all embodiments of my invention, and in some cases I contemplate omitting the same and applying the spring and arms aforesaid to a fixed or integral part or parts on the throat-plate. 9 5

The chief reason for employiu g the said block is to enable my guiding devices to be applied readily after the manner of an attachment to throat-plates of the character now in use. The block is provided with a check-screw 4, by means of which'it may be secured at any point on the dovetail 3.

The bottom of the dovetail 2 in block B is recessed to receive the spring 5, which is secured in said recess by means of screws 6, which areindicated in Figs. 2 and 3. The said spring 5 is curved or rolled up at its free end, as shown at 7 in order that the stay-piece may he slid smoothly over it. The guidearms 8 are curved, as shown, and are set in sockets or apertures in the block 13. They are secured in the said sockets bymeans of screws 9 9, Fig. 2, which are set in said block I3 and hear at their inner ends against the arms 8, the said screws 9 0 serving to hold said arms rigidly in the position in which they may be placed. The arms 8 are so formed and set that they first spread or diverge and then are curved upwardly and toward each other, their free ends approaching somewhat closely to each other, the tips of the said ends overlying the top of the rolled portion 7 of the spring 5, which presses against the under sides of such tips. A stay-piece of irregular form is indicated at 10. \Vhen it is to be secured in place, its leading portion is brought over the throat-plate with its end or extremity adjacent to the needles, the needle-slots in the throat-plate being shown at 15 15, Fig. 1. The operator having with one hand hold of the other portion of the stay-pieoe at or near the free extremity thereof, meanwhile pressing upon or holding fast the advance portion, so as to keep it in place, then bears the rear extremity of the stay-piece downwardly, so as to carry the portion of the stay piece which is directly over the curved ends of the guide-arms 8 8 downwardly into contact with the said arms. A continuation of the pressure will force the middle portion of the staypiece downwardly between the ends of said arms, first carrying the said middle portion into contact with the rolled portion 7 at the free end of the spring 5, and then carrying the spring 5 itself downwardly. At first the side edges of the stay-piece will be caused to curl upwardly by the free ends of the arms 8 8, but as soon as the rolled portion 7 of spring 5 has been depressed sufficiently to permit the said edges to pass downwardly between the free ends of the guide-arms 8 8 the edges will spring outwardly under the said ends of said guide-arms and the stay-piece will flatten out smoothly against the upper surface of rolled portion 7. As soon as the strain upon the staypiece is relieved the rolled portion 7 of the spring rises until it assumes its normal position, and thereby the stay-piece is gripped at two points, namely, between the free ends of the two guide-arms S and the rolled portion 7 of the spring 5. The pressure of the spring 5 is such as to produce enough resistance to the forward feed of the stay-piece to hold the stay-piece taut, while at the same time allowing it to be drawn over the rolled portion 7 as the work is fed forward. Since the two points at which the staypiece is engaged by the ends of the guidearms 8 are symmetrically disposed with reference to the line of feed, the forward feeding of the work operates to draw the staypiece evenly forward, so that it is guided evenly and held in proper position while being sewed in place. The'width of the opening between the free ends of the guide-arms 8 is not material, and the said free ends may touch each other, provided the arms are arranged to yield or turnrlaterally to permit the stay-piece to be forced down into place, as aforesaid.

In the construction which is illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, the screws 9 9 may be turned to loosen the arms 8 8, after which the latter may be rotated upon horizontal axes, so as to cause the bowed intermediate portions of their length to approach or recede from each other, whereby stay-pieces of varying widths may be accommodated, the screws 9 9 being tightened again to secure the arms in the desired positions.

The device described operates equally well with stay-pieces which are of uniform width throughout their length and with stay-pieces which are larger at one end than at the other, that is, the sides of which flare outwardly at one end, as is commonly the case with staypieces such as are used to cover the backseam of a shoe-upper. Such a flaring staypiece as is referred to is indicated by the dotted lines at Fig. 1. In some cases one of the arms 8 8 may be omitted and the remaining arm will be arranged to engage with the staypiece in the line of feed.

In the modification of my invention which is shown in Fig. 4 I form a vertical slot 11 in the end of the throat-plate or work-rest of the machine. One side of the said slot is opened by cutting away the middle portion at one side of such. slot. The edge of the slot 11 on which the under side of the advancing stay-piece bears is rounded, as shown, while the free ends 13 of the projection l-l project inwardly slightly to prevent the middle portion of the stay-piece from bulging out through the open throat 12. The staypiece is applied to this form of guide substantially in the manner already described, it being borne down so that its middle portion slips through opening 12 into the slot 11, after which its curled-up sides spring out and flatten inside of the projections 1t 14-. The slot 11 is placed in the line of feed and serves to guide the stay-piece and to prevent it from lateral displacement while it is being sewed. This modification is intended for use chiefly with stay-pieces that are of uniform width throughout their length. It will be noted that this form of guide, like the other form, has an open throat leading transversely into the same, thus permitting the stay-piece to be quickly and easily inserted.

\Vhat I claim is- 1. A stay-guide for sewing-machines comprising a broad rest against which the staypiece may lie in fiat condition, and two opposing arms between which and the said rest the stay-piece passes,the opening between the proximate portions of said arms being unobstructed in order to permit lateral introduction of the stay-piece, and forming a throat, substantially as described.

2. A stay-guide for sewing-machines comprising a broad rest against which the staypiece may lie in fiat condition, and two opposing arms between which and the said rest the stay-piece passes, the opening between the proximate portions of said arms being unobstructed in order to permit lateral introduction of the stay-piece, and forming a throat, and the inner ends of the said arms engaging with the surface of the stay-piece on opposite sides of the middle line thereof, substantially as described.

3. A stay-guide for sewing-machines comprising a yielding portion forming one side of the guide-opening and two opposing arms forming the other side of the guide-opening, the space between the proximate portions of said arms forming a throat leading to the guide-opening, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

4.. A stay-guide for sewing-machines comprising a yielding portion, two curved guidearms the free ends of which overlie the said spring portion, and means for rendering said curved arms adjustable toward and from each other, whereby the throat may be varied in width to suit stay-pieces of dilierent widths, substantially as set forth.

5. A stay-guide for sewinggmachines comprising an adjustable block B, a" yielding portion secured to said block, and two curved adjustable guide-arms secured to said block with their free ends overlying said spring portion and in close proximity thereto, whereby when a stay-piece is in position in said guide it will be held with a yielding pressure at two points and prevented from lateral displacement as it is fed forward, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FRANK W. MERRIOK.

Witnesses:

WM. A. MAcLEoD, CHAS. F. RANDALL. 

